Priamels as Carriers
of Cultural Information
Joanna Szerszunowicz, Ph.D.
The University of Bialystok, Poland
Priamel
• a string of words, phrases or short sentences
followed by a point, explaining the enumeration
of previously listed elements (Szpila 2003: 80)
• a semi-literary form (Lipińska 2007: 92); the
number of its elements is not formally limited,
with a minimum of two components, e.g.
Building and marrying of children are great
wasters (PDP: 24), Muck and money go together
(PDP: 278), Medici e guerre spopolano le terre
lit. Doctors and wars depopoulate lands, DPI:
680
Most frequent pattern a, b, c – d
• the Polish proverb Sól, wino, dobra wola –
bankietów omasta (lit. Salt, wine, good will – the
liquid fat added to food of banquets, NKPP 1:
56),
• English: Patience, time, and money
accommodate all things (PDP: 279), Play,
women, and wine undo men laughing (PDP: 74),
• Italian: Cane veccchio, cecchio amico e vecchio
vino sono i migliori (An old dog, a blind friend
and old wine are the best, DPI: 1225)
... are the best
Carne vicino all’osso,
cuore d’insalata,
coreccia di pane,
cacio con la goccia,
culo di cappone, arrosto di castrone,
acqua di fontone,
petto d’anatra
ala d’oca,
cigliegia beccata,
primo carciofo,
ultimi maccheroni,
ultima uva,
prosciutto a metà,
ricotta in cima,
formaggio in mezzo,
miele in fondo,
salame in cima e in fondo,
cipolla novella,
olio vuovo,
vino vecchio,
pesce piccolo,
cavolo che ha avuto il ghiaccio,
pesce fresco,
latte appena munto,
brodetto poco a poco.
(DPI: 198-199)
Priamel
• the point is not obligatory (Szpila 2003: 8182),
• e.g. the Polish proverb Słono, kwaśno i
kraśno (lit. Saltily, sourly and fattily) has an
implicit one: „you should eat so”,
• it may be of jocular character (Lipińska
2012)
Priamel
• it mostly performs a moralising function
(Pan, urząd, marszałek – ma być jak
kryształ (MG: 232),
• much less frequently a descriptive one
Uczeni w artylerii, rośli w kawalerii, pijący
na flotę, głupcy w piechotę (MG: 236)
Priamels and their cultural load
• proverbs as carriers of culture (Mieder 2007),
elements of a code of folk culture (Piirainen
2008: 214)
• culture-bound vs. culture-specific (Sabban 2008)
• universal: referring to the common cultural
(Oleśkiewicz 2007; Mokijenko 2011) as well as
similar observation made by various nations
(Lipińska 2012: 79), revealing traces of social
concepts handed down from generation to
generation (Piirainen 2008: 215)
A woman is variable.
Woman in priamels
• Polish: Niewiasta, ogień, morze – to chodzi w
jednej sforze (lit. A woman, fire, sea – all go in
one pack, MG: 220)
• Pióro lżejsze od wody, powietrze od pióra,
kobieta od powietrza (The feather is lighter than
water, air – than the feather, the woman – than
air, MG: 241)
• Italian: Tempo, vento, favor, donna, fortuna
vengono e vanno come la luna (Weather, wind,
grace, woman, luck come and go like the moon,
DDPI: 343)
Who are we?
What do
we want?
When do we
want to have
it?
Women!
We don’t know!
At once!
Woman in priamels
• Polish: Wieśniak pragnie pola, szlachcic
godności, żołnierz wojny, kupiec pieniędzy,
gospodarz pokoju, rzemieślnik roboty, malarz
piękności, a kobieta – całego świata (A farmer
wants a field, a nobleman – dignity, a soldier –
war, a merchant – money, a host – a room, a
craftsman – work, a painter – beauty, and a
woman – all the world, NKPP 2: 89).
• English: Women, priests and poultry have never
enough (PDE: 144)
Culture-bound constituents of
priamels: onomastic components
• Polish: Gdańsk bogaty, Królewiec wielki,
Toruń piękny, Elbląg obronny (lit. Danzig –
rich, Krolevets – big, Thorn – beautiful,
Elbing – defensive, NKPP: 607)
•
Onomastic components
• Gdańska dzieweczka, krakowska
wódeczka (lit. A girl from Danzig, vodka
from Cracow, NKPP1: 607)
• Gdańska gorzałka, toruński piernik,
krakowska panna, warszawski trzewik
(Vodka from Danzig, gingerbread from
Thorn, a girl from Cracow, a shoe from
Warsaw, NKPP1 : 607)
Onomastic components
• English: A Royston horse and a Cambridge master of
arts will give way to nobody (PDP: 58)
• Sutton for mutton, Carshalton for beeves, Epsom for
whores, and Ewell for thieves (PDP: 58)
• Sutton for good mutton, Cheam for juicy beef, Croydon
for a pretty girl, and Mitcham for thieves (PDP: 58)
• Oxford for learning, London for wit, Hull for women, and
York for a tit (PDP: 58)
Ethnonyms
Ethnonyms
• The Irishman for a hand, the Welshman
for a leg, the Englishman for a face, and
the Dutchman for a beard (PDP: 205)
• The Dutchman or the Chin Strap
Onomastic components
• Italian: Lo zafferano d’Acquila, le
saponette d’Atri, i panni di Arpino, la paglia
di Firenze, i merletti di Genova, gli ori di
Penne, la carta di Loreto, i vasi di Castelli,
l’accaio di Campobasso, le tavole di
Venezia, la maiolica di Faenza, sono i
migliori di cui si ha conoscenza.
Onomastic constituents
• (lit. Saffron from Aquila, soap from Atri, clothes from
Arpino, straw from Florence, lace from Genova, gold
from Penne, paper from Loreto, vases from Castelli,
steel from Campobasso, tables from Venice, majolica
from Faenza, are the best ones one knows of, DPI: 63)
Conclusions
• Priamels are valuable sources of cultural information. It
should be emphasized that retrieving cultural information
is a complex process. In a cross-linguistic and crosscultural perspective many similarities can be observed,
for instance priamels reflecting commonly accepted
concepts .
• The preliminary analysis of Polish, English and Italian
priamels show that there are some patterns which occur
in a cross-linguistic perspective, many of which contain
components which are culture-bound.
• Apart from theoretical importance, the results of research
on priamels can be implemented practically, for instance
in lexicography, translation as well as mother tongue and
foreign language teaching.
One more priamel to finish off:
Far tacere le donne / Make women go silent
Far correre i vecchi / Make the edlerly run
E far star fermi i bambini / Make children sit still
Sono cose che non sa fare neanche il diavolo. /Are
the things that even the devil cannot do.
Diavolo no, but of course, Professor Krikmann can.
So, thank you very much 